Riyadh joins global battery storage race
24 January 2025
Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor
Saudi Arabia's Bisha battery energy storage system (bess) is one of 17 projects with a capacity of over 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) that entered operations in 2024.
According to London-based Rho Motion, 11 such projects entered operations in China and five in the US.
The research firm added that overall grid storage increased 68% year-on-year, from 96GWh to 160GWh, with China accounting for 67% of the total.
Bisha represents an important milestone, ushering the kingdom into the list of the world's top locations for lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-based bess.
MEED understands that eight more bess projects of the same size are expected to come online in Saudi Arabia next year, and a capacity of 33.5GWh is expected before the end of 2026.
The Bisha plant, which has a nameplate capacity of 2.615GWh but is rated at 2,000 megawatt-hours (MWh), was built by a consortium of State Grid of China and the local Alfanar Company.
The project reinvigorates the perceived rivalry between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which extends into trade and artificial intelligence.
Abu Dhabi last week confirmed a plan to develop a 5,200MW solar power farm combined with a bess plant that has a capacity of 19GWh.
Access to, and the availability of, competitive battery suppliers and engineering, procurement and construction partners, along with investors and developers, will determine the speed of deployment of these types of projects, which are emerging as the new frontier for decarbonising electricity systems and increasing the flexibility of electricity grids in their journey towards net zero.
Photo credit: Bisha bess facility, Saudi Electricity Project Development Company
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